Electrically powered artificial lighting has become ubiquitous in modern society. Electrical lighting devices or luminaires, such as light fixtures or lamps, are commonly deployed, for example, in homes, buildings of commercial and other enterprise establishments, as well as in various outdoor settings. Multiple luminaires may be linked in their operation in order to provide general illumination to an entire region, such as an entire floor of an office or commercial establishment.
In traditional lighting systems, luminaires performed no function in addition to the general illumination of an area to which they are directed. Because illumination is usually expected throughout an inhabited area, luminaires are commonly distributed to cover the entirety of a room, floor, or building. This complete coverage by luminaires provides the potential for using systems of luminaires to monitor or otherwise acquire information about an inhabited area.
Recently, lighting devices have been developed that include sensors, e.g. for detecting changes in ambient conditions such as temperature, light level, motion, or other data about the surrounding environment. Such lighting devices, for example, may use this data in order to change one or more characteristics of the light being emitted by the lighting device (such as turning lights on when a person enters an area). Such sensed data may also be used for non-lighting or non-control purposes.
Nonetheless, there may be room for still further improvement in the use of luminaire systems to acquire and manage information about an area being illuminated.